Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $14.00 target price (down from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.81.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $15.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83. Wendy’s has a one year low of $13.72 and a one year high of $20.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.06.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.17 million. Analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth $3,723,000. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at $171,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at $530,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Wendy’s by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 628,013 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,237,000 after acquiring an additional 72,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at $173,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.